Submersible pump



Dec. 25, 1962 H. J. FELTUS 3,070,027

SUBMERSIBLE PUMP Filed April 9, 1959 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F I g. INVENTOR.

HENRY JAMES FELTUS BYW /M ATTORNEYS Dec. 25, 1962 H. J. FELTUS ,0 0, 27

SUBMERSIBLE PUMP Filed April 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HENRY JAMES FELTUS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,070.027 SUBMERSIBLE PUMP Henry James Feltus, Seneca Falls, N.Y., assignmto Goulds Pumps, lnc., Seneca Falls, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 9, 1959. Ser. No. 805,187 6 Claims. (Cl. 103-102) This invention relates to pumps and more particularly to pumps of the so-called submersible type wherein the pump and its motor are submerged in a well or other source of fluid supply.

An object of my invention is to produce a more reliable and eliicient pump of the submersible type.

Another object of my invention is to reduce the weight of the pump parts by the use of improved light weight materials and to reduce the cost thereof by the use of stampings and molded plastic parts, thus providing a pump assembly in which machining of parts is reduced to a minimum.

Another object of my invention is to provide a submersible pump in which each stage is a separate unit and the units may be freely assembled on the pump shaft individually with the separate units nested so as to avoid the necessity of any mechanical fastenings between stages such as screws, clamps or nuts and bolts.

Another object of my invention is to provide a submersible pum in which each stage is a separate unit comprising a hr wl in which a guide vane is seated and locked to a cover plate by abutting parts and the pump impeller is interposed between the guide vane and cover plate; the arrangement being such that no possible mistake can be made in the assembly of each individual stage unit.

My invention further contemplates a submersible pump in which each stage is a separate unit separately assembled and in which the impeller has a polygonal hub opening which is applied to a polygonal shaft so that it is unnecessary to locate a key way in the hub with respect to a key. Machining of keys and key ways is avoided and a drive is provided which will withstand greater torque loads.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be particularly set forth in the claims and will be apparent from the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of the pump, illustrating somewhat diagrammatically how the submersible pump in which my invention is embodied is mounted in a well;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view showing one of the pump bowls or cups;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the diffuser;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 in the direction indicated by the arrows;-

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the pump impeller showing the impeller vanes in dotted lines;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5 in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the cover plate and showing in dotted lines the water guides on the bottom side thereof;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 88 of FIG. 7 in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a complete pump unit showing the parts assembled in the bowl of FIG. 2 and showing parts below the top of the cover plate in dotted lines; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary side elevational view of the complete pump unit of FIG. 9, removed from the bowl for purposes of clarity.

The pump of my invention comprises a motor 11, a pump casing 12in which may be located any desired number of pump units generally indicated by the numeral 13. The assembly. further includes a motor adapter 14, a bearing spider 16, a coupling 17 which is threaded, as indicated at 18, to the spider 16 and to piping 19 as indicated at 21.

All of the above major elements of the pump are located in the well in a well casing 20, only part of which is shown, and may be at a depth of one hundred or more feet, the pump and its motor being submerged below the water level. The pumping units 13 are arranged in series and any desired number may be employed depending upon the level 'of the water. The ground level has been indicated at 22 and a cap has been shown at 23 from which the piping 19, the pump casing 12, its pumping units 13 and the motor 11 are suspended.

The pipe 19 may be connected to a pneumatic tank (not shown) or may be connected to irrigation piping. If the pump is used for domestic household service, the complete system, in addition to a pneumatic tank, would include a means for supplying the pneumatic tank with air and a pressure controller for starting and stopping the pump at predetermined pneumatic tank pressures. The electrical connections to the motor are shown at 24 and these connections may be enclosed in'a cable guard. These and other elements of a complete system have not been shown as they are well known and do not constitute part of my present invention.

The motor adapter 14 is bolted to the motor, as shown at 26, and carries a bearing 27 for the lower end of the pump shaft 28. The pump shaft 28 is connected to the end of the motor shaft 29 by a suitable coupling 30.

The pump shaft 28 extends axially upward through the pump casing 12 and at its upper end is provided with a screw driver slot 32 to enable the pump shaft 28 to be rotated by a screw driver to determine if the rotating parts are turning freely. The bearing spider also supports an upper bearing assembly 33 and an opening in the bearing assembly is closed by a screw plug 34. The upper end of the bearing spider 16 is provided with a valve seat upon which a check valve 36 of any suitable construction seats.

The suction inlet of the pump is cylindrical and is covered by a screen 37, the water flowing from thence through a plurality of annularly arranged suction openings 38 to the lowermost of the pumping units 13. The water is pumped upwardly through the vairous stages in series, each stage adding an increment of pressure until it flows through the spider passages 40. The pressure of the water opens the check valve and water 'flows through the pipe 19 to the point of use. If the system feeds to a pneumatic tank, the motor stops as soon as the pressure therein reaches the pressure for which the pressure controller is set, and the check valve closes to maintain water in the system above the check valve.

Each of the pumping units comprises a bowl or cupshaped member, generally indicated by the numeral 41, and shown partly in section in FIG. 2; a difiuser or guide vane, generally indicated by the numeral 42, and illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4; an impeller, generally indicated by the numeral 43, and shown in FIGS. 5 and 6; and a cover plate, generally indicated by the numeral 44, and illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.

Referring now to FIG. 2, bowl 41 comprises a stamping of sheet metal having a bottom wall 46 and cylindrical side walls 47. The. bottom wall has a central opening 48 through which the water flows from the discharge opening of one pumping unit to the suction opening of Patented Dec. 25, 1962 the next unit. The bottom wall of bowl 41 is dished upwardly at 49 and stamped in the bottom is a groove or male part 51. The upper edge 52 of the cylindrical wall is machined so that when the bowls are stacked the groove or male part of one bowl will register with the upper edge or female part of the next lowermost bowl allowing a plurality of bowls to be stacked in vertical alignment.

Pump casing. 12 is threaded at its ends, as shown at 53, (FIG. 1) to mate with threads on the motor adapter 14 and the bearing spider 16. The lower end of the bearing spider has a portion of reduced diameter, as shown at 54, which bears against the upper edge 52 of the uppermost bowl while the motor adapter has a portion of reduced diameter, as shown at 56, upon which the lowermost bowl seats. When the pumping units have been assembled and the bowls arein stacked relation, the bearing spider may be threaded downward to hold the bowls in stacked relation.

The diffuser 42 (FIGS. 3 and 4), the impeller 43 (FIGS. 5 and 6), and the cover plate 44 (FIG. 8) are all molded of plastic materials. I have experimented with a number of plastic materials and found any plastic may be used which has sufficient strength, resistance to abrasion, stability in water, accurately molding characteristics and a suitable range of working temperatures, such as the modified styrenes Cycolac T, Cymac 201," or the butyrate Tenite II.

The diffuser 42 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is annular in shape and has bottom wall 57 and a plurality of shaped vanes 58, in this case six, which extend upwardly from the bottom wall and receive and guide the fiow of water discharged by the impeller. Vanes 58 have an upwardly extending outer wall 59 which snugly fits in the bowl 41 and a curved inner wall 61 which is somewhat voluteshaped. Between adjacent vanes 58 a passage 62 is formed for the flow of water, the water passing to the inner'circumference of the bowl and thence upwardly. Each vane 58 has a step down at 63 to form a part of a lock as will presently appear.

The impeller 43 (FIGS. 5 and 6) comprises a back plate 64 with which a hub 66 is integrally molded. The

hub has a polygonal, in this case a hexagonal, shaft opening 70; and projects above and below the back plate a substantial distance. Its length is substantially the same as the height of the bowl. Thus when the impellers are assembled in the bowls and the bowls are stacked, the hubs of adjacent impellers will abut each other and the hubs of the lowermost pump unit will rest upon a spacer sleeve 67 (FIG. 1). The parts are dimensioned so that the impellers will rotate freely between the guide vanes and the cover plates, without contact with any of these parts.

Integrally molded with back plate 64 of the impeller are a plurality of curved vanes 68 which, in this case, are five in number. A shroud 69 (FIG. 6) having an opening 71 forming an impeller suction eye is secured to the vanes by suitable plastic pins 72. The shroud further has an annular ring 73 molded integrally therewith.

The cover plate 44 (FIGS. 7 and 8) is disc-shaped and has a central opening 74 through which the hub 66 extends and has on its upper surface six flow passages 76 defined by flow guides 77. The water discharged by the impeller below the cover plate flows through the flow passages 76 to the suction eye of the next impeller of the series. The peripheral margin of the cover plate has six cutouts or openings 78 which register with the dew passages 76 through which water from the impeller below flows.

The underside of the cover plate has, in this case, six flow guides 79 raised from its surface which cooperate with the guide vanes 58 (FIG. 3) to form the channels through which water, discharged by the impeller, flows to the cutouts 78 and the flow passages 76. The inner walls 81 of the fiow guides are circular (FIG. 7) while the outer walls 82 have the same curvature as the walls 61 of the guide vanes. Afterthe impeller is in position in the diffuser, the cover plate is placed on the impeller hub and is rotated slightly in either direction. The ends 83 of the flow guides 79 will then drop into the step downs 63 of the guide vanes and the parts will be locked against rotation with respect to each other in one direction. At

. the same time the curvatures 82 of the flow guides 79 will register with the curvatures of-the walls 61 of the guide vanes to lock the guide vane and the cover plate against rotation with respect to each other in the opposite direction.

In FIG. 9 I have shown all four parts of one of the pumping units in assembled relation and in FIG. 10, which is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the parts of FIG. 9, I have endeavored to show the locking of the cover plate and the diffuser as above described.

The pump of my invention is inexpensive to manufacture; the individual pumping units are easy to assemble in a substantially fool-proof manner; the cover plate and the guide vane are locked in the proper assembled relation to define the flow passages to carry the water from one impeller to another; the individual units are easily stacked and held in assembled relation.

Another important feature of my invention is the use of a hexagonal shaft 28 which interfits with the hexagonal hubs of the impellers. Hexagonal bar stock is a standard steel mill item and can be purchased to size. However, its primary advantage is that it avoids the use of keys and key ways andgthe expense thereof; facilitates assembly of the impeller' hubs on the shaft; and will withstand greater torque loads.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of mechanism of my invention it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made therein, particularly in the form and relation of parts, without de parting from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A submersible pump comprising, in combination, a plurality of bowls each having a substantially open top, a sidewall and a bottom wall having a central opening through which the liquid being pumped flows, a pumping unit mounted in each of said bowls, said pumping units each comprising a rotatable impeller and a diffuser, said diffuser having a bottom part and a cover part, a common drive shaft for all of said impellers, means for driving said shaft, said impellers discharging liquid into said diffusers and the pumping units being mounted in series and a plurality of circumferentially spaced enlargements each having an axial component on one of said parts and a plurality of corresponding circumferentially spaced depressions having complemental axial components on the other of said parts, said components being closely interfitting for interlocking said parts in a predetermined assembled relationship against any substantial relative rotation.

2. A submersible pump in accordance with claim 1 having curved ribs on the upper surface of said cover part with the bottom wall of the next uppermost bowl forming substantially closed channels from the diffuser to the central opening of that bottom wall.

3. A submersible pump in accordance with claim 1 having diffusion vanes in the bottom part and continuations thereof formed on the underside of the cover part.

4. A submersible pump in accordance with claim 1 having diffusion vanes in the bottom part and continuations thereof formed on the underside of the cover part, curved ribs on the upper surface of said cover part with the bottom wall of the next uppermost bowl forming substantially closed channels from the diffuser to the central opening of that bottom wall.

5. A submersible pump in accordance with claim 1 having channels formed between the top of said cover part and the bottom wall of the next adjacent bowl to guide the liquid being pumped from the diffuser to the suction inlet of the next adjacent impeller.

6. A submersible pump in accordance with claim 1, the sidewall of said bowls being cylindrical and the diffusers snugly and frictionally fitting the sidewalls of the bowls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 966,428 Cornstock Aug. 9, 191% 1,798,787 Conant Mar. 31, 1931 2,366,964 Howard Jan, 9, 1945 6 Lung July 10, 1956 Lung Oct. 4, 1960 Wright et al. Nov. 22, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of 1915 Austria Nov. 25, 1913 Austria Jan. 16, 1947 Great Britain Aug. 18, 1944 

